Several weeks ago, I popped down to Adventure Bar in Covent Garden (London) with the bloke after work. I had seen a voucher for cocktails and decided to take advantage of it. A while had passed since I have stayed late in London, after work, to take advantage of the selection of pubs and cocktail bars. A night out was overdue, especially as I have been working so hard.
Booking was easy, and I sent a couple of emails back and forth with a lovely staff member who took my reservation and then rearranged it a couple of days later after the bloke told me that he had just arranged a series of medical treatments. I had then rearranged it for a Tuesday toward the end of July.
When we entered, there was a couple at one of the tables, and our reserved table was at the bar. We were told that we could sit anywhere. We had the place to ourselves.
The bar looks small from the outside, but it is actually in the basement and brick archways extend into the distance. There were plenty of seats. We kept out seats near the bar as that's where the action was, and more and more people were starting to arrive as the evening progressed. Actually, the voucher seemed to prove popular as others were visiting with it.
As it was a Tuesday evening, and Tuesdays are known as "Takeover Tuesdays" at Adventure Bar Covent Garden. We were told that we could have a try at making our own cocktails! This was fun. We also picked four songs to play as "Takeover Tuesdays" means that you can learn how to make your cocktail (with help from the bartenders) and choose the tunes to play. I choose to play Will.i.am, Britney Spears (with Will.i.am), Scouting for Girls, and Flo Rida. After some cheesey 1980s songs, they played my tunes.
We were entitled to four cocktails each, so we got down to ordering our first drink (June Bugs) and ordered some bar snacks off the menu. We ordered rosemary chips, a beef burger, and a haloumi skewer. The food is made in the restaurant next door, and we were both surprised at how tasty the food was.
Next, we got busy with the drinking and cocktail-making. I ordered a couple of Woo Woos, a second June Bug, and the bloke had Long Island, Grounds for Divorce, and Any Given Sundae. Yes, he was more adventurous. Grounds for Divorce is a combination of fruit juices, apricot brandy and Jack Daniel's. Any Given Sundae combines ice cream, vodka, Bailey's, and Kahlua.
Loads of photographs of cocktails, cocktail-making, and the bar are below.
The atmosphere was fun. After my tunes played, a song from "Dirty Dancing" played, and the bar staff acted out the jumping embrace scene. They also got the guests involved.
The cocktail menu does offer a few surprises and quirky drinks. One of the drinks that you can try includes a real cricket. Eww! That one is not for me. Other fun cocktail items include shots infused with different types of British sweets (Skittles, Flying Saucers, Rhubarb & Custard, Strawberry Bon Bons, and Glacier Mints). Other types included a "Sharing is Caring" cocktail package.
There were two packages we could choose from, but they also have a package for up to eight guetss. Ours were 2-3 guests, and we had no trouble having that in addition to the four cocktails we had already had. "The Poppy Horror Show" came with a vodka-based cocktail, popcorn, hand-cuffs, and lipstick. The other choice was "Popzilla", a rum-based cocktail served with popcorn, two fortune cookies, and a model plane. Both cocktails would be served in a large glass shaped like a popcorn bag.
We went with the "Popzilla" option, and we received a green-coloured cocktail. The bartender also put a slice of passionfruit on the top of it and lit it. We ate the caramel/toffee popcorn and built the little model foam plane. We also opened the fortune cookies. I got a free hug from one of the bar staff, and the bloke got one about "bad things happen when you party naked". Ops. I felt sorry and let the bloke have my free hug.
Anyway, we had a fun evening. It always makes me wish that I had more time to have fun and that I did not have to live so far out of London...yet commute every day into London.
Adventure Bar is located at 20 Bedford Street, Covent Garden, WC2E 9HP. For more information about their hours, visit their website at http://www.adventurebar.co.uk/covent-garden-bar/
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